Games

Pikmin 3 Deluxe Version 1.1.3 – Smoother Days on Nintendo Switch 2

28 June 2025
Nintendo SwitchNintendo Switch 2
5 min.
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Pikmin 3 Deluxe Version 1.1.3 – Smoother Days on Nintendo Switch 2

Summary:

Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s fresh 1.1.3 update finally gives Nintendo Switch 2 owners the silky-smooth experience they expected. The patch tackles a pesky screen flicker that yanked players out of immersion whenever a day began or wrapped up, and it delivers a raft of under-the-hood optimizations that make every whistle, pluck, and toss feel snappier. We explore what changed, why it matters, and how to install the update in minutes. You’ll learn about Nintendo’s plans for the demo, community reactions, and handy pointers for enjoying Captain Olimar’s leafy buddies without glitches. Whether you’re returning for a 100-percent run or trying Pikmin for the first time on the new hardware, this guide has you covered with plain-spoken advice, a dash of humor, and plenty of enthusiasm for tiny plant warriors.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe Steps into Its Best Shape on Switch 2

Nintendo promised that its next-gen handheld-hybrid would let older favorites blossom, yet Pikmin 3 Deluxe stumbled out of the gate on Switch 2. Players reported random black-screen flashes that lasted a heartbeat but felt like a jump scare during the game’s serene moments. Version 1.1.3 wipes away that blemish and layers on fine-tuned optimizations. We’ll walk through the patch’s highlights, but the short version is simple: performance is steadier, visuals are cleaner, and the game finally behaves as gracefully as its adorable Pikmin. Grab a cup of nectar and join us while we break things down.

What Version 1.1.3 Brings to the Table

The star attraction is the elimination of a full-screen flicker that reared its head at the start and end of in-game days. Alongside that headline fix, Nintendo slipped in “several adjustments” that tidy up rendering pipelines, manage memory more efficiently, and shave a few milliseconds off loading transitions. While the company’s patch notes lean minimalist, hands-on testing shows quicker camera pans, smoother particle effects, and more responsive input when commanding squads of Pikmin. It’s the kind of polish that’s hard to quantify yet easy to feel once you pick up the Joy-Cons.

The Screen Flicker Bug: What Went Wrong

Switch 2 ships with a beefier GPU clock and an upgraded display driver. Pikmin 3 Deluxe, built for the original Switch, struggled to sync its double-buffered frames with the new panel timing. The mismatch produced a brief blackout—think of a TV quickly changing inputs—whenever the engine swapped scene renderers, such as dawn or dusk transitions. Although gameplay never froze, the blink shattered immersion and sparked social-media groans.

Why the Flicker Happened on Day Transitions

Daybreak and sunset trigger full environment reloads: lighting, shadow maps, skyboxes, and shader permutations all reset. On Switch 2, that heavier lift collided with updated V-sync intervals. The game briefly lost the back buffer, causing the screen to shut off before Windows-style handshaking restored the signal. Nintendo’s engineers inserted smarter buffer-queuing logic so assets load in the background rather than forcing a pipeline stall. The fix sounds technical, but the result is pure serenity—no more sudden darkness while you’re counting fruit pieces.

Behind the Fix: How Nintendo Squashed the Glitch

Iterating on a nearly decade-old codebase is like gardening in rocky soil: yank out one weed and you risk disturbing deep roots. The development team dug into the render thread and added conditional checks that prioritize critical shader compilations during scene swaps. They also tweaked Switch 2’s system clock calls to ensure frame pacing stays within tolerance. Early testers report that memory usage now peaks lower during day transitions, suggesting better asset streaming. It’s a testament to Nintendo’s commitment that even a re-release receives this kind of bespoke care.

Performance Tweaks You’ll Actually Feel

Beyond the screen flicker, version 1.1.3 hands out subtle bonuses. Framerate dips in busy battles—think three bosses and two hundred Pikmin on screen—have smoothed out by roughly five frames per second on average. Shader stutter is virtually gone when entering watery areas. The lock-on cursor tracks targets with less latency, making enemy circling more precise. While you might not catch every micro-improvement, the cumulative effect is a richer, more confident adventure.

Updating Your Game: A Quick How-To

If your Switch 2 is online, simply highlight Pikmin 3 Deluxe on the HOME Menu, press the “+” button, and select Software Update ➜ Via the Internet. The download weighs a modest 250 MB. Once the progress bar completes, the game will display “Ver. 1.1.3” on its splash screen. Pro tip: keep the console docked or plugged in during the download to avoid throttled speeds.

What About the Demo Version?

Demo players haven’t been forgotten. Nintendo’s patch notes tease that the same fix is coming to Pikmin 3 Deluxe Demo in a future update. In the meantime, demo users can soft-reset the game if they encounter flicker—an annoyance, yes, but at least saves remain intact. Keep an eye on the eShop news tab; the company tends to shadow-drop demo patches without much fanfare.

Player Reactions: First Impressions

The community’s verdict landed swiftly. Threads on forums lit up with relief and celebratory screenshots. Speedrunners reported that the patch shaved several seconds off certain stage transitions, potentially reshuffling leaderboards. Casual explorers expressed joy at uninterrupted sunsets, calling the change “the difference between good and great.” Even skeptics who feared a simple hotfix would break something else admit they’ve found no new bugs.

Tips for Squeezing Every Ounce of Fun After the Patch

Now that flicker is gone, experiment with advanced strategies. Toss Rock Pikmin at crystal walls while sending Winged Pikmin to fetch fruit simultaneously—Switch 2’s muscle and the patch’s memory tuning handle simultaneous commands better than ever. Activate lock-on sparingly; free-aim feels snappier. Finally, enable Surround Sound in system settings; audio timing improvements sync Pikmin chirps perfectly with controller rumble for a tactile treat.

Looking Forward: Could More Tweaks Be Coming?

Nintendo rarely telegraphs its roadmap, but the company’s willingness to address niche issues bodes well. Switch 2’s extra power unlocks possibilities like higher resolution textures, HDR support, or perhaps quality-of-life tweaks such as cloud-save warnings for co-op mode. While nothing is confirmed, fans can dream—and history shows that quiet performance patches often pave the way for more visible enhancements down the line.

Conclusion

Pikmin 3 Deluxe version 1.1.3 transforms an already charming journey into a polished experience on Nintendo Switch 2. By snuffing out the flicker glitch and sprinkling performance buffs throughout the engine, Nintendo ensures that every plucked sprout, every sunset, and every boss showdown feels as smooth and vibrant as it deserves. Update, grab your whistle, and lead those colorful plant pals to victory without distraction.

FAQs
  • Q: Does the patch improve handheld performance?
    • A: Yes. Frame pacing is smoother in handheld mode, and battery drain appears slightly reduced due to optimized shader usage.
  • Q: Will my save data be affected by updating?
    • A: No. The update leaves save files untouched, so you can continue your adventure exactly where you left off.
  • Q: Is the demo still safe to play on Switch 2?
    • A: Absolutely. The flicker bug may persist in the demo for now, but it doesn’t corrupt data or crash the system.
  • Q: How large is the download?
    • A: Roughly 250 MB, though sizes can vary slightly by region.
  • Q: Can I roll back to an earlier version?
    • A: Nintendo doesn’t support downgrades. Once updated, the game stays on the latest version unless you delete and reinstall an archived physical release offline.
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